The present disclosure relates to methods of producing optical refractive structures within transparent materials.
Conventional optical lenses, as have been made since the time of Galileo, are produced through the polishing and shaping of glass. Another form of a lens is the gradient refractive index lens, or GRIN lens. GRIN lenses employ a spatially varying refractive index to produce a focusing effect. GRIN lenses may be produced according to a number of known methods, including ion embedding, sol-gel methods, and the use of photonic crystal fibers. Unfortunately, such methods limit the degree to which the desired properties of the GRIN lens can be controlled.